Removable pocket overlays, pocket designs, fabric overlays and uses thereof

ABSTRACT

Removable fashion overlays for clothing are described herein that comprise: a) at least one piece of fabric overlay material; and b) at least one coupling apparatus, wherein the fabric overlay material is designed to be applied to a piece of clothing using the at least one coupling apparatus and wherein the fabric overlay material does not form a pocket.

This application is a Patent Cooperation Treaty Application that is based on U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/906047 filed on Mar. 8, 2007, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE SUBJECT MATTER

The field of the subject matter is removable pocket overlays, pocket designs and uses thereof.

BACKGROUND

Clothing consumers always look for methods to update and extend the useful lifetime of parts of their wardrobe, including pants, jeans, skirts, jackets, vests and shorts. Some of the more expensive pieces of clothing are the same ones that the consumer will want to wear more often, and therefore, its important and desirable for those pieces of clothing to have a different look each time it is worn by the consumer.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,673 to Easton et al. (“Easton”) discloses an individual attachable pocket for articles of clothing. The pockets in Easton are iron-on pockets and are therefore designed to be permanent once applied to the clothing. While this patent discloses methods and materials to update and repair clothing, once the pocket or patch is applied, it cannot be removed and leave the clothing in tact and unaffected.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,041,549 and 5,054,127 disclose methods of attaching and detaching full pockets to a vest, pants, shirts or jackets. The fully enclosed pockets can be attached, detached and stored with their contents in tact. The clothing that corresponds to these full pockets contain base pads or attachment strips, which allow for the pocket to couple with the clothing. Therefore, the clothing and the full pockets are intended to operate as a set. The underlying clothing article is not designed to be fashionable or desirable to wear by most of the general public without any of the full pockets attached, especially given that base pads and attachment devices would be exposed and presumably not attractive.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,775 discloses stick-on shirt pockets designed to a) form a pocket when attached to a shirt and b) provide space for advertising or artwork. This patent is similar to the two already discussed in that they provide a method of attaching a full pocket to a shirt surface. The distinction between this patent and the '549 and '127 patents is that there is an adhesive material on the back of the full pocket that is designed to attach to any surface on its own without a corresponding adhesive material on the shirt surface.

There is still a need in the clothing industry for removable pocket overlays, pocket designs and fabric overlays where the consumer can wear the original piece of clothing and optionally update or change the piece of clothing by applying a removable pocket overlay or removable fabric overlay, wherein the removable overlay or design doesn't form a pocket, but is instead intentionally designed to update and change the look of a piece of clothing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a front and back perspective of a pair of pants or jeans.

FIG. 2 shows a contemplated removable fashion overlay 200 from the front 210 and back 220 perspectives.

FIG. 3 shows a contemplated removable fashion overlay 300 as attached to a piece of clothing 310.

FIGS. 4A-4D show several contemplated removable fashion overlays (400, 402, 404 and 406) wherein overlay 406 is a fabric overlay that can function as a belt loop.

FIGS. 5A-5D show several contemplated removable fashion overlays (500, 502, 504 and 506) wherein overlay 506 is a fabric overlay that can function as a belt loop.

FIGS. 6A-6D show several contemplated removable fashion overlays (600, 602, 604 and 606) wherein overlay 606 is a fabric overlay that can function as a belt loop.

FIGS. 7A-7D show several contemplated removable fashion overlays that are designed to secure to a pocket 710 on a piece of clothing (not shown).

FIGS. 8A-8B show a contemplated removable fashion overlay 800 and 802 as attached to a pocket 820 on a piece of clothing (not shown).

FIGS. 9A-9B show a contemplated removable fashion overlay 900 and 902 from the front 910 and 912 and back 920 and 922 perspectives.

FIGS. 10A-10B show a front and back perspective of a pair of shorts.

FIGS. 11A-11C show front and back perspectives on a jacket, a skirt and a vest—all having removable fashion overlays.

SUMMARY OF THE SUBJECT MATTER

Removable fashion overlays for clothing are described herein that comprise: a) at least one piece of fabric overlay material; and b) at least one coupling apparatus, wherein the fabric overlay material is designed to be applied to a piece of clothing using the at least one coupling apparatus and wherein the fabric overlay material does not form a pocket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Surprisingly, removable pocket overlays, pocket designs and fabric overlays have been designed where the consumer can wear the original piece of clothing and optionally update or change the piece of clothing by applying a removable pocket overlay or removable fabric overlay, wherein the removable overlay or design doesn't form a pocket, but is instead intentionally designed to update and change the look of a piece of clothing. The function of the pocket overlays, pocket designs and fabric overlays is not to create a pocket, but instead to update and/or change a piece of clothing to make it more “wearable” for the consumer on more days.

Specifically, contemplated embodiments of a removable fashion overlay for clothing comprise: a) at least one piece of fabric overlay material; and b) at least one coupling apparatus, wherein the fabric overlay material is designed to be applied to a piece of clothing using the at least one coupling apparatus and wherein the fabric overlay material does not form a pocket. As used herein, the phrase “does not form a pocket” means that the fabric overlay material is not coupled to the piece of clothing, such that the fashion overlay can be used to store and/or hold items, such as wallets, pens, money, paper, credit cards, cell phones, pager devices, handheld devices or other items that may be stored in a pocket.

In addition, a piece of clothing comprising a coupling apparatus for receiving a removable fashion overlay is contemplated herein. In some embodiments, the piece of clothing comes already coupled to a removable fashion overlay. In other embodiments, the piece of clothing is produced with a plurality of studs or partial zippers (or the like) in order to mate with the coupling apparatus from a fashion overlay that is produced and sold separately.

FIGS. 1-11, which are described herein later, show several embodiments of both the individual pocket overlays, pocket designs and fabric overlays alone and removably attached to clothing pieces. These pocket overlays, pocket designs and fabric overlays can be designed with any number of suitable designs and suitable materials.

The individual pocket overlays, pocket designs and fabric overlays may first be made out of any suitable fabric or material. Its not necessary that the material over the overlay match the material of the underlying fabric of the clothing item. As a matter of fact, it may be more advantageous to the wearer that the materials not match or complement one another. Also, given that the overlay's utility is that it updates or changes a piece of clothing, the overlay does not need to be made from a particularly durable or long-lasting fabric. Contemplated fabric choices may include natural or synthetic fabric, including denim, silk, cotton, polyester, rayon, linen, velvet, leather, suede or any combination thereof.

The individual pocket overlays, pocket designs and fabric overlays may also comprise any suitable design. These designs may comprise nonsensical or random designs, may comprise logos, trademarks or expressions, or a combination thereof. For example, a company may produce jeans and then produce a line of pocket overlays, some of which contain the logo of the company, some of which contain a random design and some of which contain a tag line with a random design. It should be clear that the designs and combinations of these designs are only limited by the creativity of the designer or company producing the overlays.

For example, some companies may choose to produce fashion overlays in the shape or containing the company logo, or a logo or tagline for a new product line. High school, colleges and universities may use fashion overlays with school logos. Athletic teams and countries participating in Olympic sports may produce fashion overlays with logos and flags.

The removable fashion overlay also comprises at least one coupling apparatus, which may comprise any suitable coupling device, method or apparatus. Contemplated coupling apparatus comprise a zipper, a stud, a button, a rivet, VELCRO®, a snap, a male-female coupling piece or a combination thereof. Contemplated coupling apparatus are designed to removably couple the at least one fashion overlay with at least one piece of clothing.

The designs contemplated may be a part of the design of the fabric, may be applied to a blank piece of fabric or may be a combination of both. The individual pocket overlays, pocket designs and fabric overlays may also comprise any suitable decorative material, such as stitching, beads, jewels, metallic pieces, lights, fluorescent materials, chains, buttons, zippers or combinations thereof. FIGS. 1-11 show how some of the overlays are designed with respect to additional pieces of decorative materials.

As also shown in FIGS. 1-11, the fabric overlays may comprise any suitable shape or thickness, including square, triangular, rectangular, circular, random shapes or a combination thereof.

As discussed, these pocket and fabric overlays may be applied to any suitable piece of clothing in any suitable location. Contemplated clothing includes pants, jackets, t-shirts, dress shirts, sweatshirts, shoes, vests, hats, etc. Suitable locations include any location where a pocket or fabric overlay would be desirable, including on the front, back, sleeves, legs or other suitable location.

Overlays contemplated herein may be removably attached to the item of clothing at any location on the overlay, including on one or both of the sides, the top, the bottom or under/bottom side of the overlay. Again, the overlay is not designed or intended to be a pocket to hold any item or items, so the attachment of the overlay to the item of clothing is merely intended to provide a secure attachment to the clothing for the user while the user is wearing the item of clothing.

When the overlay is being utilized as a pocket overlay, its designed to removably attach to the outside part of the pocket in order to provide a new “look” to the existing pocket while at the same time not interfering with the utility of the original/existing pocket. When the fashion overlay is being utilized as a patch, it can also function as a belt loop. As FIG. 11 shows, and is described later, fashion overlays can be utilized on the front and back of jackets and vests to completely change the look of the piece of clothing by removably adding embellishments, logos and other fabric designs.

FIG. 1 shows a front and back perspective of a pair of pants or jeans. This particular embodiment is a GRIDLOCK™ wide leg jean 100 with zipper on and off removable fashion overlays 120 and 130. The fabric of the jean is 98% cotton and 2% spandex. The zippers and hardware are antique silver. Note that the removable fashion overlays 120 and 130 use a rivet coupling apparatus and the removable fashion overlays 110 utilizes a zipper coupling apparatus.

FIG. 2 shows a contemplated removable fashion overlay 200 from the front 210 and back 220 perspectives. In this embodiment, VELCRO® 230 is utilized as the coupling apparatus and the stitching 240 that attaches the VELCRO® to the fabric overlay material is seen on the front 210 perspective of the fashion overlay.

FIG. 3 shows a contemplated removable fashion overlay 300 as attached to a piece of clothing 310. In this embodiment, a plurality of zippers 315 are utilized as the coupling apparatus and the top 320 and bottom 330 of the fashion overlay 300 are not attached to the piece of clothing 310.

FIGS. 4A-4D show several contemplated removable fashion overlays (400, 402, 404 and 406) wherein overlay 406 is a fabric overlay that can function as a belt loop (not shown) or a cover for a belt loop (not shown) on a piece of clothing (riot shown). Note that these overlays utilize coupling apparatus that comprise studs 440. In addition, these fabric overlays comprise at least one design, such as stitching 450, fabric appliqué 460, chains 470 and charms 480.

FIGS. 5A-5D show several contemplated removable fashion overlays (500, 502, 504 and 506) wherein overlay 506 is a fabric overlay that can function as a belt loop. Note that these overlays utilize coupling apparatus that comprise studs 540. In addition, these fabric overlays comprise at least one design, such as stitching 550, fabric appliqué 560, chains 570 and charms 580.

FIGS. 6A-6D shows several contemplated removable fashion overlays (600, 602, 604 and 606) wherein overlay 606 is a fabric overlay that can function as a belt loop. Note that these overlays utilize coupling apparatus that comprise studs 640. In addition, these fabric overlays comprise at least one design, such as stitching 650, fabric appliqué 660, chains 670, charms 680 and logos 690. In this Figure, it is instructive to note that the removable fashion overlay 600, 602 and 604 are not “pocket shaped” but instead are smaller and applied to an underlying pocket 610. The underlying pocket is originally part of the clothing.

FIGS. 7A-7D show several contemplated removable fashion overlays that are designed to secure to a pocket overlay 710 on a piece of clothing (not shown). Note that the pocket overlay 710 comprises a stud 720 that is designed to function as a coupling apparatus. Pocket overlay 730 is also shown having a “logo button” 740 as part of the original pocket design. The “logo button” is also designed to function as a coupling apparatus with the removable fashion overlays. Pockets 750 and 755 show how the removable fashion overlays 752 and 757 are attached. Note that removable fashion overlay 757 comprises a button hole (not shown) as part of its design that couples with the “logo button” 740. Other removable fashion overlays 770, 772, 774 comprising stud couplers 775 are shown, along with removable fashion overlays 780, 782 and 784 comprising button holes 785.

FIGS. 8A-8B show a contemplated removable fashion overlay 800 and 802 as attached to a pocket 820 on a piece of clothing (not shown). In this embodiment, a plurality of zippers 815 are utilized as the coupling apparatus and the top 820 and bottom 830 of the fashion overlay 800 and 802 are not attached to the piece of clothing. Other fashion overlays are shown as 840 and 850.

FIGS. 9A-9B show a contemplated removable fashion overlay 900 and 902 from the front 910 and 912 and back 920 and 922 perspectives. In this embodiment, snaps 930 are utilized as the coupling apparatus of the fashion overlay.

FIGS. 10A-10B show a front and back perspective of a pair of shorts. This particular embodiment is a GRIDLOCK™ Bermuda shorts 1000 with zipper on and off removable fashion overlays 1010 and 1020. The fabric of the jean is 98% cotton and 2% spandex. The zippers and hardware are antique silver. Note that the removable fashion overlays 1010 and 1020 in this figure have two coupling apparatus—a zipper 1030 at the top over the overlay 1010 or 1020 and a button/button hole combination 1040 at the bottom of the overlay 1010 or 1020. The mate for the zipper 1030 is located on pair of shorts 1000.

FIGS. 11A-11C show front and back perspectives of a jacket (1110—front, 1115—back), a skirt (1120—front, 1125—back) and a vest (1130—front, 1135—back)—all having removable fashion overlays (1140). As a matter of fact, in this embodiment, a removable coin pocket overlay 1150 can be utilized.

Thus, specific embodiments and applications of removable pocket overlays, pocket designs, fabric overlays and uses thereof have been disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. Moreover, in interpreting the specification, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced. 

1. A removable fashion overlay for a piece of clothing, comprising: at least one piece of fabric overlay material; and at least one coupling apparatus, wherein the fabric overlay material is designed to be applied to a piece of clothing using the at least one coupling apparatus and wherein the fabric overlay material does not form a pocket.
 2. The removable fashion overlay of claim 1, wherein the fashion overlay comprises a pocket overlay, a fabric overlay, a pocket design or a combination thereof.
 3. The removable fashion overlay of claim 2, wherein the fabric overlay comprises a belt loop cover, waist band cover or combination thereof.
 4. The removable fashion overlay of claim 1, wherein the at least one piece of fabric overlay material comprises denim, silk, cotton, polyester, rayon, linen, velvet, leather, plastic, suede or any combination thereof.
 5. The removable fashion overlay of claim 1, wherein the overlay may comprise any suitable design.
 6. The removable fashion overlay of claim 5, wherein the design may comprise embroidery, rhinestones, metal, paint, chains, screen-printed designs, textured designs, zippers or a combination thereof.
 7. The removable fashion overlay of claim 1, wherein the at least one coupling apparatus comprise a zipper, a stud, a button, a rivet, VELCRO®, a snap, a male-female coupling piece or a combination thereof.
 8. The removable fashion overlay of claim 1, wherein the removable fashion overlay may comprise any suitable shape.
 9. The removable fashion overlay of claim 8, wherein the shape comprises a square, a triangle, a rectangle, a circle, a random shape or a combination thereof.
 10. The removable fashion overlay of claim 1, wherein the piece of clothing comprises pants, jackets, t-shirts, dress shirts, sweatshirts, shoes, vests, hats or a combination thereof. 